The present invention relates generally to appliances and, more particularly, to an adjustable control panel especially suitable for reliable operation of appliances having relatively high vibration characteristics such as laundry machines.
The control panel preferably houses and protects switches, indicators, and other devices and the associated wiring. It would be desirable to mount the panel on the machine in a location and position that is convenient and accessible to all users. However, the location and position for the typical control panel have been in the past, of necessity, a compromise that best suits the xe2x80x9caveragexe2x80x9d user.
Current generation appliances may employ electronic displays and switches that are best viewed and accessed from more limited angles than older electromechanical devices. Users with physiological characteristics that differ from the xe2x80x9caveragexe2x80x9d in height, reach, and other factors may experience difficulty and may even suffer stress injuries when trying to use such appliances. While pivotal panels have been utilized in the prior art, such panels have had numerous problems that are discussed in more detail hereinafter. For instance, the below discussed patent discloses a moveable or rotatable panel that still projects upwardly from the back of the machine even after being folded downwardly. Other problems relate to reliability as will be discussed hereinafter.
Home appliances, and in particular laundry machines such as washers and dryers, typically have user controls clustered together on a panel. Often, the control panel projects upwardly from the body of the machine on the rear side of the machine. The projection of the panel from the body creates space within the shipping box that adds shipping costs by increasing the volume of the shipping container and reducing the number of units that can be shipped in a given volume. The consumer therefore must pay extra shipping costs, of approximately fifteen percent, due simply to the projecting panel. Moreover, the shipping box requires extra box stuffing material, such as Styrofoam, that may create waste problems, may not be biodegradable, may pollute the environment, and may unnecessarily fill up land fills.
Thus, previous attempts to solve some of the aforementioned problems include the following patent:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,678, issued Sep. 19, 2000, to B. F. Marchand, discloses an appliance, such as a cooking range, a clothes dryer, a clothes washer, an oven or the like, includes a console along a rear edge of the appliance which can pivot between an upright in-use position and a lower shipping, repair and/or servicing position. The console is preferably of a two-part construction including a front housing body having an integral injection molded encapsulation or frame peripherally retaining a touch sensor control panel which can be readily accessed when the console is in its lower repair position.
Consequently, there remains a need to provide an improved ergonomic control panel that may lower costs and still reliably operate for many years of service even on machines that produce significant vibration. Those of skill in the art will appreciate the present invention which addresses the above problems, and other significant problems uncovered by the inventors the solutions to which are discussed hereinafter.
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide an improved assembly and method for mounting a control panel to an appliance.
An objective of one preferred embodiment of the present invention is to provide a control panel that may be adjusted in position according to the individual needs of any particular operator.
An objective of another embodiment of the present invention is to provide a mounting that reliably holds the control panel in the desired position even in the presence of prolonged vibrations over many years.
An objective of another particular embodiment of the present invention is to provide a control panel mounting that is collapsible to a substantially flat position with respect to the appliance housing to thereby provide lower packing and shipping costs.
These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the drawings, the descriptions given herein, and the appended claims. However, it will be understood that above-listed objectives and/or advantages of the invention are intended only as an aid in understanding aspects of the invention, are not intended to limit the invention in any way, and therefore do not form a comprehensive or restrictive list of objectives, and/or features, and/or advantages.
Accordingly, an appliance assembly is provided that may comprise one or more elements such as, for instance, an appliance housing, a control panel housing, and/or at least one pliable member having a first side and a second side. The first side of the pliable member may be affixed to the appliance housing and the second side may be affixed to the control panel housing such that the control panel housing is moveable or rotatable with respect to the appliance housing. The pliable member may be elongate and may be affixed to most of a length of the control panel housing.
The assembly may further comprise at least one support member, such a rod, mounted between the control panel housing and the appliance housing operable for affixing the control panel housing at a desired moveable position with respect to the appliance housing.
The support member may, in a presently preferred embodiment, be pivotally attached to the control panel housing. Other elements may comprise at least one clamp operable for clamping the at least one support member in a selected position to thereby affix the control panel at the desired position. In one embodiment, the at least one clamp is secured to the appliance housing.
The assembly may further comprise features such as the appliance housing defining a recess adjacent the pliable member, and the control panel having a selected shape to mate with the recess such that the control panel housing is moveable or rotatable into the recess for reducing a total volume of the combined appliance housing and control panel housing.
One possible method of the invention for mounting a control panel housing with respect to an appliance housing may comprise one or more steps such as, for instance, flexibly connecting the control panel housing to the appliance housing through a flexible member, providing a recess within the appliance housing that mates to a shape of the control panel housing such that the control panel is moveable or rotatably insertable into the recess, and/or providing a control that either permits moveable or rotatable movement of the control panel housing with respect to the appliance housing or affixes the control panel in a selectable position with respect to the appliance housing.
Other steps might include attaching the first side of a pliable member to the control panel housing, and attaching the second side of the pliable member to the appliance housing. In one embodiment, the method may further comprise providing the pliable member to be elongate in that the pliable member has a width less than one-fifth of its length.
Other steps may comprise providing one or more rigid members attachable between the control panel housing and the appliance housing to rigid support the control panel housing in the selected position and/or providing one or more clamps for selectively gripping the one or more rigid members and/or affixing the one or more clamps to the appliance housing and/or providing a pivotal or rigid connection on a first end of the one or more rigid members.
In another embodiment, a method for selectively and securely controlling a position of a control panel housing with respect to an appliance housing which vibrates during operation may comprise one or more steps such as flexibly connecting the control panel housing to the appliance housing utilizing a flexible member, providing one or more rigid members attachable between the control panel housing and the appliance housing to rigidly support the control panel housing in the selected position, providing one or more clamps for selectively gripping the one or more rigid members, affixing the one or more clamps to the appliance housing, and providing a pivotal connection on a first end of the one or more rigid members.
In a preferred embodiment, the method provides for a recess within the appliance housing that mates to a shape of the control panel housing such that the control panel is moveable or rotatably insertable into the recess and/or pivoting the control panel into the recess in the appliance housing prior to transporting the appliance housing.